Monday, May 5, 2008

Our Trip to Zion National Park

(by Jeff)

Last week, we took a few days off work and headed down to Zion National Park. Neither of us had ever been to Zion's before, so it was a new experience for us. We had a good time camping and hiking. We did several different hikes (some of which are detailed in the posts below) and took lots of pictures. However, our point-and-shoot camera and below-average photography skills fail to truly show the magnificence of the Park. However, we hope you enjoy our pictures in the posts below!

Our campground (Watchman Campground)

Emerald Pools

(by Jeff)

On Thursday afternoon, we hiked the Emerald Pools Trail. It is a fairly short hike that leads to a series of small waterfalls and pools.






Angel's Landing

(by Jeff)

On Friday, we hiked to Angel's Landing. It is a hike to the top of a cliff that overlooks Zion Canyon. The last part of the hike is very intense--you climb up very steep rock with 3,000 foot drop-offs on both sides of you. It was an exhausting hike, but the views were spectacular!


Kolob Canyons

(by Jeff)

On Saturday, we went to Kolob Canyons. Kolob Canyons is technically part of Zion National Park, but it is not in the main part of the Park. We hiked the Taylor Creek Trail, which was about 5 miles round trip. It followed a small stream past into a small canyon, past a few old cabins, and to a gorgeous cavern-type area called Double Arch Alcove (again, the pictures do not do it justice). It was a very enjoyable hike because it was not nearly as crowded as the main part of the Park.





Plants and Animals in Zion National Park

(by Jeff)

Here are pictures of some of the different plants and animals that we saw while we were hiking.

Mule Deer

Lizard

Squirrel

Wild Turkey

Duck





Katelyn's dance review

(by Jeff)

Two weekends ago, we went down to Aurora, Utah to visit my sister Ginger. Ginger has her own dance studio, and every year she puts on a dance review in the spring. We go down most years and help her with the dance review. This year was especially fun because my niece Katelyn was in the dance review. Although she is the youngest dancer in the whole show (she is only 2 years old), she did a great job. It was so funny to watch her dance--she had so many hilarious moments. In the dress rehearsal, Katelyn's group was supposed to be performing a dance to "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." For example, during the first half of the song, Katelyn just stood in place and sang the song as loud as she could. Then she decided to dance--just not the dance that she had learned and that everyone else was doing. She decided to improvise, and it was much more interesting to watch than the dance that the rest of the group was doing. Later, during the finale at the dance review, each group of dancers was supposed to come on stage, do a little dance that they had learned, then move to the side of the stage so the next group can come on and do their part. Katelyn came on with her group, then watched them dance and leave the stage. Once the rest of the group had left the stage, she looked around to make sure she had the stage to herself, then broke out into a freestyle dance. It was such a cute little dance, but hilarious! The crowd loved it, and so did Katelyn. After the dance review was over, Katelyn was still enthralled with being on stage. While we were cleaning up the auditorium, Katelyn was on the stage dancing by herself for another 45 minutes.

Katelyn posing with the rose she got after the dance review.

Katelyn still performing on the stage long after the dance review is over.

Ginger and Katelyn